A driver had to pay £150 to have his car released after police wrongly accused him of driving without insurance - and tweeted a photo of the seized car before he could prove his innocence.

Nathan Phipps, 34, was left stranded at the side of the A19 near Skipton, North Yorkshire when police pulled him over as he was taking his newly-bought Renault Clio for a test drive.

The security guard, from Earby, Lancashire, was questioned by officers and told he was being charged with driving without insurance - an offence which carries a £300 fine and six penalty points.

Nathan Phipps, 34, from Earby, Lancashire, pictured left, was furious when police posted a photo on Twitter, pictured right, claiming he was driving without insurance - despite him proving his innocence the next day

Mr Phipps insisted he was covered by third party insurance but was left standing at the roadside when police seized the vehicle.

He and his girlfriend Jane Jarvis, 39, who were with their two dogs, then had to find their own way home.

But before leaving, the officer slapped a sticker on the Clio, saying 'No insurance means no car!'.

The officer then took a photo of the car and posted it on Twitter with the message: 'finished the day as started, another no insurance £seized'.

The next day, Mr Phipps took his insurance documents to the station, proving he had third party insurance and the charges were dropped.

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But Mr Phipps still have to pay £150 to have his car released - despite it being unfairly seized.

And his colleagues knew all about the incident the next day - become someone had seen the post online.

Now the father--of-one has lodged an official complaint against the North Yorkshire officer who stopped him on September 18.

He said: 'I'm absolutely disgusted. It was my girlfriend's car and we had just bought it.

'I've used the garage a lot so they said I could take it for a drive and if I wanted any extra work doing on it, they would carry it out and I could pick it up the next day.

Mr Phipps had to pay £150 to retrieve the car after police seized it at the side of the A19, near Skipton

North Yorkshire Police confirmed that no action was being taken with the no insurance. The force added that Mr Phipps' complaint was being investigated

'I knew I was covered by my third party insurance and I was absolutely positive I had all the documents at home to prove it. I told the officer this when he stopped me but he wouldn't listen.

'He was very arrogant and he just kept playing with his phone. I told him to ring my insurance company to check it out and he said he would.

'But he came back a few minutes later and told me he'd phoned and they said I had no insurance.'

After being left stranded on the side of the road, Mr Phipps had to ring his father to pick him up from the side of the road.

He continued: 'I knew at the time it was a mistake. I don't know why they told him I had no insurance but I'm sure that was just a misunderstanding.

'But what really annoyed me was when I saw what he was doing on his phone.

When I got into work the next day, my colleagues knew about it because someone had seen it on Twitter

Motorist Nathan Phipps

'When he started taking the picture of my car, I asked him what he was doing and he said he had a Twitter account and he and a few of the lads had a good laugh about it. I said I didn't find it funny at all.

'A few minutes later, when I looked at the screen I saw him send the Tweet with a picture of my car.

'When I told him I was not happy about it he just told me 'it was done' and there was nothing he could do about it.'

He added: 'Once I proved I had insurance they decided to drop it so I haven't had to pay the £300 fine or had the six penalty points.

'But the police said if I want get my £154 back I have to go to a solicitor. I haven't received a single apology either.

'When I got into work the next day, my colleagues knew about it because someone had seen it on Twitter.'

After lodging his complaint, Nathan has been told that police regard tweeting as a useful public relations exercise.

He added: 'I don't think it is good PR at all - I think it is highly unprofessional.

'The officer should not have been on his phone Tweeting when I was standing there, and he put it out that I was uninsured when I was.

'I am totally disgusted. I wouldn't do it at work and I don't think he should have done it either. Plus all my colleagues were aware of it and so I looked really bad.

'I don't know what I'm going to do next but they've picked on the wrong person.'

North Yorkshire Police confirmed that no action was being taken with the no insurance. The force added that the complaint was being investigated.

A spokesman said: 'As this issue is the subject of an investigation by the force's professional standards department, it is not appropriate for us to comment at this time.'